


Thoughts of the Surface

by cipocereus



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 04:32:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5729638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cipocereus/pseuds/cipocereus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brief summaries of Links thoughts and feelings on his quest on the Surface</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thoughts of the Surface

On Link’s first dive through the cloud barrier he was intimidated by the size of the Surface, for where would he even begin to look for Zelda? Had he any proof, even, that she was still alive? 

When he landed in the Sealed Grounds and met an old lady in the temple there, he had trouble moving past his initial suspicion of her. It was a shock to his system to talk with anyone new after growing up in as small a community as Skyloft. Yet maybe more troubling to him was the way she spoke as if she already knew him well, and that she told him that she had been waiting for him - but he wasn't one to turn down help and especially not from someone who already knew this strange Surface. Outside of the temple Link met a “Goron” and he resigned himself to the fact that he would keep being surprised by this new land.

The Kikwi’s certainly didn’t disappoint. Link marvelled, as he was running his errand for the Kikwi elder, at the variety of life on the Surface and couldn't help but compare it with his home in the Sky. Everything seemed so much more vibrant in the forest for one thing, and with none of the wide-open quality of the Sky. He still expected to turn a corner and reach a cliff, to see the familiar landscape of clouds stretching to the horizon. Was all of the land covered with huge trees like these? And the air seemed so heavy compared to above, where he felt as light as his Loftwing in flight, he wondered if he would ever feel comfortable there: where everything was so closed in and he could rarely look up and see his Sky.

The next excursion Link took below the barrier solidified in his mind just how little of this world he really knew. He thought that the mountainous region is as different a place as one can find from the forests of Faron; it’s not just the climate which is held in stark contrast, the structure of the very earth seems formed by different hands than the flat carpet of the forest. Eldin’s only positive, Link reflected, was the way that when he stands on one of the peaks of the mountain range that makes up the region, he so much closer to his sky than anywhere under the trees.

By the time Link reached the ruins of Lanayru, he was torn between the sense of urgency in his quest for Zelda and the absolute despair that the emptiness of the desert provoked. In Faron and even Eldin, there had been a welcoming community of the local life and although the old robots seemed friendly enough, they just compounded how empty the mines feel in the present day. Link felt regret at being unable to see the civilization in its heyday and wonders that it might have been from the era of war between his Goddess and the Great Evil of which he was taught as a child.

When he landed back in the Sealed Grounds and fought The Imprisoned, it was like Link was facing the culmination of his worst nightmares – he certainly remembered those teeth – and it was a relief, of sorts, to be able to have such a confrontation. It gave Link back a little piece of determination and the feeling of control over his own destiny.  
All his life, Link had burned with curiosity over what was concealed in the gargantuan Thunderhead storm system. It was clear, of course, that it was hiding something, for it had never moved from its position in the north-west and so was not of natural origin. Though he enjoyed exploring the new scattering of islands, Link felt primarily underwhelmed – to him, it seemed that the Thunderhead was like one of the dungeons of the Surface: a dark reflection of its outside environment, more ruins, more traps and everything wanted to kill him.

Link had never felt as vulnerable on his journey as when he was tested in the Silent Realm where he could carry neither shield nor sword but, with his courage, he pressed onward. When he reached the end of his quest - when he could finally stop and recover all that the Surface had cost him, the guardians of the Silent Realm would be able to find him in his nightmares.

Even considering events prior to entering the Ancient Cistern, the presence of the undead under Lake Floria was highly disturbing to Link. Although, the presence of rotting flesh in the water supply may lend an explanation as to how the Woods could be so full of carnivorous vegetation, and maybe the zombies themselves were a side effect of the nearby The Imprisoned sealed within the Earth?

When Link first saw then vast Sand Sea as it had once been, he felt like crying at such a loss. He hoped that, one day, Time would bring water back to Lanayru but he knew that he would not be alive to see a full recovery of the region. Skipper’s tragic situation also caused a deep sorrow and sympathy within Link for he was sure that the robot was aware of the fate of its people and how it was forever tethered to the timeshift stone on his ship. After his quest, Link resolves, he will offer to transport Skipper and his craft to Lake Floria which, whilst it is not as vast as an ocean, would give the captain some real water to sail and the companionship of the Parella colony.

Link considers the rich soil on the sides of the volcano on his climb to the summit, and the excess of water in and around the Faron province. He feels his quest coming to its resolution but he thinks that he would not simply be able to return to Skyloft and live his life in the clouds; maybe he could convince his people to embrace life on the Surface so he would not have to choose between the two.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is the first piece of fiction I have produced in the last five years so I would be grateful for any feedback you can provide


End file.
